Inside of Mansfeld's news shop, Tucson, Arizona, Territory ca. 1890.

Settling in the Frontier Communities

The successful peddler often settled in a frontier community and established a permanent dry goods store, thereby facilitating commerce and aiding the growth of America. Like other Americans, Jews joined the Gold Rush of 1849 and the westward expansion. By the early 20th century small Jewish communities existed throughout the southwest and west. These Jews served a vital function, not only as merchants supplying manufactured goods, but often as a main source of credit and banking. In 1856 Jacob S. Mansfeld (1832-1894) came to America from northern Germany, arriving in San Francisco where he was a partner in a bookstore. He left California after a short time, staying briefly in Virginia City, Nevada before arriving in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to his news shop, Mansfeld established Tucson's first circulating library. He also helped found a territorial university in Tuscon, later to become The University of Arizona.